Levy, Gregoire focus on courting voters door-to-door

Steven Levy and Danielle Gregoire, running for the 4th Middlesex state Representative seat, said last week they have been continuing to hit the ground hard, spending most of their time knocking on doors in Marlborough, Westborough and Northborough.

By Kendall Hatch/Daily News staff

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Kendall Hatch/Daily News staff

Posted Oct. 16, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 16, 2012 at 4:04 PM

By Kendall Hatch/Daily News staff

Posted Oct. 16, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 16, 2012 at 4:04 PM

MARLBOROUGH

» Social News

Steven Levy and Danielle Gregoire, running for the 4th Middlesex state Representative seat, said last week they have been continuing to hit the ground hard, spending most of their time knocking on doors in Marlborough, Westborough and Northborough.

"The whole focus has been door to door," said Levy, "just talking to voters."

Levy, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Gregoire, who held the seat for a term before he bested her by a slim margin in 2010.

Gregoire, an attorney, said she also has been spending most of her time one-on-one with voters, a strategy she said she thinks will win her the election.

"I’m still out every day knocking on doors," Gregoire said. "We win votes by getting to peoples’ door, getting them on the phone and having that direct contact with them."

The two will face off tonight for their first debate, which is being sponsored by the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce. The chamber’s Candidates Night kicks off at 6 p.m. at the District Education Center on Washington Street. Levy and Gregoire will also be joined at the event by Middlesex and Worcester District state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, and his opponent, Republican Dean Cavaretta of Stow.

Levy and Gregoire are also scheduled to meet for another chamber-sponsored event, the Candidates Debate Breakfast, on Wednesday, Oct. 24. Tickets to the event, which runs from 7:45 to 9 a.m., go for $20 and reservations are required.

No other debates had been confirmed as of late last week, Levy and Gregoire said.

Both candidates said they were looking forward to the match-ups.

Gregoire said she plans to demonstrate that she is an independent, focused on jobs and the economy, while she billed Levy as being in lock-step with Tea Party legislators and refusing to break stride with the most conservative members of the party at a cost to the district.

"I feel like we’re right on the issues," Gregoire said. "My independent voice is what I’m really interested in conveying to people."

Meanwhile, Levy said he wants to use the debates as an opportunity to hold Gregoire’s feet to the fire and press her on specifics, on which he said she has come up short.